The present invention relates to an automotive body, such as an automotive body of a passenger vehicle, that is open at the top and which includes a transverse member connecting the side structures of the body to one another approximately at chest height in the area between the passenger compartment and the luggage compartment.
German document DE 199 10 007 C1 describes a body of a vehicle, open at the top, having a transverse member extending over the width of the vehicle with through-openings for stationary U-shaped rollover bars. The transverse member is supported on pillar-like consoles on both sides of the vehicle, and the consoles are arranged on the transverse floor structure. In addition, flange bushings that accommodate the free end sections of the rollover bars are provided on the transverse floor structure.
German document DE 201 03 001 U1 describes a body for a vehicle that is open at the top with extendable rollover bars supported in a bar guide formed by a transverse member in conjunction with a profiled sheet metal partition.
Furthermore, German Patent Application 101 16 347.6, previously unpublished, discloses a body for a vehicle that is open at the top with rollover bars that are adjustable in height guided in through-openings in a transverse member. In the area of the end sections of the rectangular cross beam on the outside of the vehicle, its underside is removed in such a way that the three remaining walls of the transverse member form a “shoe” extending over the supports on the automotive body in a form-fitting manner.
An object of the present invention is to provide an automotive body having an improved loading option between the passenger compartment and the luggage compartment and/or simplified assembly of the transverse member in the automotive body.
This object is achieved by having at least one left strut, and at least one right strut, with each strut connected to the transverse member at one end in an area of its upper end section and running obliquely downward in a direction of outside of the vehicle and, at its lower end section at the other end, to the body. A receptacle for the transverse member may be provided so as to extend inward approximately horizontally from each of the side structures of the body. A preassembly unit for an inventive automotive body is also claimed.
A transverse member running at chest height or below approximately chest height may be connected by means of struts to the side structure of the body so that the struts run downward and outward obliquely approximately in the transverse plane of the vehicle. Since the struts run obliquely, a certain comparatively large clearance remains beneath the transverse member in comparison with that of known vehicle bodies, and this clearance may be used as a loading opening between the passenger compartment and the luggage compartment. The inside clearance is thus also large enough for transporting bulky goods, such as snowboards or golf bags. This yields advantages in comparison with known arrangements having only rectangular openings with comparatively small cross sections. The rigidity of the body is improved to a substantial extent while at the same time a weight advantage is yielded by having the diagonally running struts. Furthermore, a body according to the invention has low manufacturing costs and low weight because, instead of a separate partition, as is known from German document DE 201 03 001 U1, for example, only local struts need be used. Furthermore, automotive equipment such as control units may be arranged in the area of the transverse member and/or the struts.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the struts run at angles of approximately 45° with respect to the transverse member. The struts here lie essentially in a transverse plane of the vehicle which runs perpendicularly or deviates from the perpendicular line by only a slight angle (±10°). With this arrangement, the free end sections of the struts are situated in an area approximately at a right angle beneath the fastening of the transverse member to the side structure of the body.
In addition, it is also conceivable for the struts to form a larger angle with respect to the perpendicular because this yields an improved support for the transverse member and thus an increase in the rigidity of the body is achieved. The limited space available in vehicles, however, does not usually allow struts having a pronounced inclination.
A particularly high rigidity of the body without any negative effect on the inside clearance of the loading opening is obtained when the struts are provided in pairs in front of and behind the transverse member.
A further increase in the cross section available for a loading option is obtained when the connection point of at least one of the struts on the transverse member opposite the central longitudinal plane of the vehicle is offset laterally in the direction of the outside of the vehicle. This yields an additional clearance in the area of the central longitudinal plane of the vehicle.
In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the struts of the right and left sides of the vehicle are manufactured from one piece, resulting in a V-shaped strut component. If the upper end sections of the struts are attached outside of the center of the vehicle, the one-piece strut component has a leg running parallel to the transverse member in the installed position, connecting the two inclined struts to one another. The strut component may be formed by a hollow profile having a rectangular cross section, for example, in which the two inclined strut sections are obtained by bending an originally linear semifinished product.
Especially simple assembly results when the transverse member and/or the struts is/are joined to the body by screws. A screw connection is also possible for the connection between the transverse member and struts.
In one claimed approach, receptacles are provided on the right and left sides of the body for connection of the transverse member to the automotive body. These receptacles protrude inward away from the side structure of the body. This yields a gain in design space below the transverse member in comparison with the known state of the art in which the pillar-like receptacles are provided. This design space may be utilized for the installation of vehicle equipment, for example.
A particularly simple assembly of the transverse member in the vehicle is obtained when the receptacles are designed so that the ends of the transverse member can be pushed onto or into them in a form-fitting manner. The insertion movement of the transverse member is then preferably in the vertical direction. Alternatively, the receptacles may have planar screw flanges for screw connection to the transverse member.
The receptacles are preferably designed as deep drawn and/or edged sheet metal shell components and are made of the same material as the side structure of the body to permit the simplest possible inexpensive connection to the side structure of the body.
The receptacles may also be designed as cast components, e.g., made of a lightweight metal material such as an aluminum alloy.
As already known from the state of the art, the transverse member is preferably designed so that it accommodates a stationary or height-adjustable rollover bar in through-openings. This results in further gains in terms of design space and weight.
With a transverse member having a rectangular cross section, for example, this yields an interior closed cavity which can be utilized in a particularly advantageous manner as an air guidance channel. This air guidance channel may be utilized in a closed vehicle or in a convertible with a closed top to vent or aerate the interior.
Advantages with regard to manufacturing costs and assembly time are obtained when the transverse member is assembled to yield a preassembly unit outside of the automotive body. The preassembly unit may be supplied as a complete module to the manufacturing line of the vehicle manufacturer. The scope of the preassembly includes the struts and/or some or all of the components of the rollover protection device and/or vehicle equipment such as control units, loudspeakers, cable trees, etc.
Possible embodiments of the present invention are illustrated in the drawing and described in greater detail below.